New family
by Titans fan 1
Summary: Better than the title sounds.When Danny's parents adopt a 13 year old named,they don't realize his mysterious abilites or troubled past.Now Using his abilites Nick must work with Danny to stop a seemingly unstoppable group.
1. The Plot Unfolds

Hi people

Here's the rewrite of the first chapter. It's generally the same but I changed around the events, and tweaked the plot a little. Enjoy, and review please.

_Italics_ _are thoughts_ and **flashbacks are bold**. Like I said please review (with some suggestions if possible) on ways I can improve my writing or if you have any suggestions for the story. And I realize that I can't write transitions for my stories well so you don't need to tell me that.

In an inconspicuous building in Amity Park there was a small office. In the center of it was a desk full of paper work, and covering the walls were maps of the world and the ghost zone. The person behind the desk was in his late twenties. He was a business man who was known as Shadow. His face and body could get women he wanted, with an expression that showed the type of person who would stop and talk to anyone. His hair was dark brown, and cut military style. But his eyes truly told what type of person he was. They were cold, like a person who cared about nothing in the world. On his desk a phone rang, and the voice of his secretary said "Steel is in the phone. He says it's an emergency." A look of worry crossed his otherwise emotionless face as he put the phone on speaker phone. "Hello Steel. How are you today?" The voice on the other end, the voice of a teenager, replied in an annoyed voice "Cut the pleasantries old man. I just called to tell you I found out the location of _the _book. The one you've been looking desperately for. Now all I need is the payment and you can go back to what ever you were doing."

Shadow's face filled with excitement and glee as he smirked cruelly. "Are you sure? I've seen cases of rumors before." Steel responded agitatedly "No, I heard it from Death himself. When he heard we were looking for it he contacted me immediately. He told the location, said he wanted to get revenge at Clockwork. Something about denying him the death of those friend of the Danny Phantom, anyways I'm sending Silence in to retrieve the book. It's in the lair of the Collector, so it'll be a tough job." A look of anger crossed Shadow's face. "The Collector, isn't he the one who has never been successfully stolen from?" A dark laugh was heard from the other end of the line. "Yeah, that thief The Rat, tried to steal something from the Collector's place. He disappeared, and two weeks later there was still no body and his lair was trashed. The suspected culprit was obvious since it was common knowledge what he tried to do." "What's the point of telling me that story" was the annoyed reply. "The point, my impatient friend, is that Silence has an overly high sense of self preservation. Most jobs are cake for him but when major players get involved he tends to need more...incentive."

Shadow looked infuriated, but managed to answer back "Fine. I'll transfer some more cash your account. My highest bonus is 5,000." "Only 5,000, a possible suicide run is enough to make that weasel bail on his job. 15,000 is the lowest offer I can think of." "10,000"came Shadow's reply, but it came out as a hiss of annoyance. "Fine, 10,000 is okay. The transfer will be complete as soon as possible. But only the first half, and the rest will come when the job is done." "Thanks, I'll get on that right now. Anyways I'll call you when I get new news" and the other end of the line went dead. Shadow had a satisfied look on his face as he stood to his full stature, 6 foot 4 and walked over to his map of the ghost zone. _The Collector's castle, that's pretty close to Clockwork's lair. That will make the job harder, but if it succeeds phase two of the plan can start._

**-- **

In an ancient looking castle deep in the ghost zone a powerful ghost resided. Known as the Collector, he was currently in a study seemingly from the Renaissance Age. Clothed in a deep red robe, and surrounded by book shelves filled with books. He was currently reading a book titled History of the Ghost Zone, Twelfth Edition.

_Excerpt from the book_ The Ghost Zone was made at the same time the human world was. These two worlds have mainly co-existed side by side for a long time and this balance is what keeps existence stable. There have been occasional shifts in this balance, but every time it has taken a very powerful object to disturb it. There are other dimensions, but they are not directly involved in this equilibrium and impossible to access unless a person know the right person.

The ghost zone is set up in order of age. At the outer layer of the realm live the newer ghosts, or the ones that have not gained much power since they died. The common ghost form of a blob with arms and a face is found in this area. Then in the next part of the ghost zone, the inner layer, live the ghosts that that have gained power since their death, and are at their peak. Well known ghosts that live here are Wulf, Skulker and Technus. The key difference between these layers is that the ghosts in the inner layer have a specific goal for their afterlife, while the outer layer ghosts merely want to live for the sake of not dieing.

The guardian layer is next, and all the guardians. Terra is the nature guardian of the ghost zone (Victus terra means living earth speaks in Latin) and Clockwork, the guardian of time were some of the beings that lived here. Another well known guardian is the Grim Reaper A.K.A Death. He is even well known in the human realm. The guardians each watch over a certain part of the two worlds.

The final section of the ghost zone in the core zone, and here live the original spirits, the ones that were born when the ghost zone was made. This group includes the Observants and the ancient ghosts who sealed Pariah Dark: the ghost king, live here. These spirits have big influence in the running of the ghost zone, but only interfere on matters they deem important. The daily running of the ghost zone is left to the Guardians and their servants. Another essential part of the ghost zone that exists is the justice system. This… _End excerpt_

The Collector was brought out of his book when an alarm was sounded. "Danger, danger, zone one has been breached." _Shit_ thought the Collector. "Identify intruder" he yelled to the computer. "Intruder found" came the voice, and a screen popped out in front of him. A swift moving shadowy figure figure flitted through the screen. _Crap, that's the section near the power station._ Lights flashed, and the computerized voice came on again. "Warning, warning, warnin…." The power in his castle suddenly shut down. The Collector muttered under his breath as he made a light charging a ball of glowing ectoplasm. He hurried down to his vaults. Ten minutes later he arrived at the vaults which stored his most prized treasures and quickly took an inventory in his head. He knew every piece that was in his collection. While he did this he thought back to when he started his collection.

**Flashback**

A middle aged ghost floated through the air looking confused. Wait, floating, and then the man seemed to panic more. One second ago he was in his study reading a book, and the next thing he knew he was surrounded by a vast green space filled with green emptiness. He wandered for a while before he saw a massive building before him, and he was a door bell next to an expensive looking door. He rung it and as the door creaked open creepily a person stood before him. He could've been classified as normal if he didn't seem to shift from the form of a child to his middle age to that of an old man. The man started to hyperventilate, but the person in the door, after getting a confused look, tried to calm him down. The mysterious person looked a thought seemed to hit him. "Now I know why you're panicking. My name is Clockwork and let me be the first to tell you that you're dead." With that the man started breathing faster.

**--**

**Author's note**

I'm saying the man because I assume the older a ghost is in the ghost zone the less they remember about when they were alive. So the Collector is having a flashback about his first ghost zone experience but cannot remember his name. The man that Clockwork is talking to the Collector.

**-- **

"I'm… dead. But I don't remember dying, all I know is that one second I was relaxing and the next thing I knew I was wherever here is." Clockwork merely smiled and invited the man in to help explain the situation. "I'm not the Grim Reaper so I don't know how you got killed, or end up in this area for that matter. My name is Clockwork, master of time. I'm confused because most newly dead go to another area where the less powerful ghosts lived. This indicates that either the higher ups think you're special or you are a naturally powerful ghost" Clockwork went on to explain the rest of the basic knowledge about the ghost zone.

When the explanation was finished the man had a look on his face that showed curiosity, with a mix of fear. "Since I'm not sure, but you can stay here to finish adapting to your new home. I don't' have time to train you but here are some texts on what powers every ghost has, and how to use them." And with that offer a new friendship was born, and after the basic training began. The man learned how to use the basic ghost abilities of intangibility, invisibility and shooting a beat of ectoplasm. Then Clockwork let the man visit some time periods that he studied when he was alive, as long as he agreed not to take anything history changing or alter the time line. The man even got to train in the fighting techniques of the time periods he visited after learning how to appear human. He came up with the new name the collector, because when he visited the different time periods he took things that wouldn't alter the time line. That included weapons and armor, all of which he knew how to use.

After a one year stay with Clockwork he was ready to leave. "Wait" he heard from the door behind. Clockwork appeared holding an seemingly empty sack. "This bag currently holds copies of all the books you owned in life, the deed to a "cursed" castle in the ghost zone and extra books that I feel you're destined to have. One of those extra books in very valuable and if it's lost I'll do bad things to you along with everyone else who lives in the Ghost Zone. If I ever need to explain why then there could be possible catastrophic consequences." The man now known as The Collector was ready to ask about the special book, but was silenced when Clockwork gave him a look that said don't ask. "Cursed castle? What do you mean?" Clockwork replied "It's only cursed because it is semi sentient and you need it's deed of it to live in it. It comes fully furnished and ready to live for those it deems worthy. And as for the book it is in an un-translated language. I just feel something telling me give it to you." With that the man left his friends home with a new friendship and many questions on his mind.

**End flashback**

In his thought the collector had went through most of his collection. All that was left was one item, the special one that Clockwork had given him when they first parted. He quickly approached a thick steel vault. He put his eye level to the eye scanner, and let it do its job. Then he put his finger on the ectoplasm scanner, which opened the second part of the lock. The third part was a password that consisted of a password that had symbols from many languages, and voice activation. He did this all mechanically, and prepared to shut down the final part of the security. The vault door was made up of a ghost shield, stolen technology from human ghost hunters that he had gotten his hands on. Like all other contraband from the human world it was illegal to own but thanks to "donations" to the Ghost Zone justice system he had managed to keep it. As he surveyed the vault full of the newest and best security measures one thing seemed off. The he noticed that the book was gone! His most treasured artifact, stolen, which he thought was an impossibility.

One thing stood in his mind at that moment, _I need to contact Clockwork_._ I don't know what he'll do to me but if he fins out through anyone but me I'll be screwed._ He quickly went back to his study and contacted Clockwork. "I've got bad news. The important book you gave me was stolen." Clockwork suddenly had a look of panic on his face. "What!"he yelled. "The book was stolen. If you don't get that back then I'll, I'll..." he heard Clockwork breathe deeply before talking again. "Listen. Finding that book is extremely important. I'll tell you a little bit about it. Its title is The Book of Beginning. It goes into detail about exactly how the worlds were made, and it talks about a now forbidden concept, how to remake the threads of existence. With that information someone can remake the fabric of reality, much like the Reality Gauntlet, but with more ease." The Collector's eyes widened at this information. "You mean to tell me that existence as we know it is in danger?" "No" Clockwork responded "it also holds information on evil things like the dark weapons and summoning a portal to the world of demons. That in itself is a big danger. There are rumors that the Ghost King himself got aid from some of these objects." All the Collector could respond was by three simple works "We're screwed."

**--End chapter-- **

Well, hope you liked the rewrite so far. I'm attempting to try harder at one of the major weaknesses: descriptions. I hope you like the re-write so far and please read and review.


	2. Meeting Nick

Steel (the next chapter)

Here's the next chapter to my story. In it the plot deepens, and Danny's family finds out there's a lot more to Nick than they expected. Plus a potential change in the Fenton family. _Thoughts_ _are italics._

Casper High was your average high school in many respects. There were many cliques, questionable school food and standard classes. The things that set it apart from all other high school were that it was in Amity Park, the most haunted town in America and the resident town super hero went to school here; Danny Fenton, otherwise known as Danny Phantom. Danny Phantom was viewed by the majority of the town as a villain that caused havoc purposely, but they were mistaken. He was really a true super hero with all the things that came with being one. He had an arch enemy: Vlad Plasmius, also known as Vlad Masters or the Wisconsin Ghost. He has many other enemies including Skulker, Technus and even saved the world a couple of times.

At this moment of time he was in the middle of his English class, taught by an over-weight, middle aged teacher called Mr. Lancer. He was in the middle of class when his ghost sense, a thin blue wisp, escaped his mouth. _Not here. I bet it's the Box Ghost._ He raised his hand and waited for Mr. Lancer to see it up.

** Mr. Lancer's POV**

When I saw Danny raise his hand, I groaned inwardly. In the past year Daniel Fenton's grades had dropped to barely passing (and failing in some cases) and he always seemed to be leaving class. I finally looked towards Danny. "Mr. Fenton, what is it now?" He rubbed his raven black hair before replying sheepishly "I, uh…I need to go to the bathroom." "Really, that's the second time this class that you've had to go." "I know" he replied quickly "I drank too much water at lunch." Grudgingly, said "fine, but hurry back. You'll miss the information needed for tonight's homework." Danny hurried out of the room. Someday I'll find out why he's leaving so often.

**End Mr. Lancer's POV**

Danny exited the room and double checked the hall to see if anyone was around. Seeing he as alone, he quickly turned into Danny Phantom. His signature red and white t-shirt and jeans turned into a black jumpsuit with the letters DP on his chest. His hands and feet were now totally white, blue eyes and black hair turned green and white. He quickly phased through the walls to find, as he expected, the Box Ghost. His "enemy" went through the usual speech of how he was the Box Ghost who controls all things cubical. Danny charged a blast of ectoplasm and shot it at the other ghost. Then he took out the Fenton Thermos™ and sucked the Box Ghost in. The he rapidly phased through the walls back to an area near his current class and walked calmly in. His day continued on as usual from there.

School passed without any conflicts, and soon the day was over. He, Tucker and Sam left the school as usual. "Guys, I need to work on that social studies project today." Sam, his "secret" crush looked at him annoyed. "The one assigned to us a week ago? The one you claimed was all finished?" He had the dignity to look ashamed. "Yeah, so anyways meet you later for training at the park." "Okay" replied Sam and Tucker at the same time. They left their separate ways and Danny took his usual route home.

**-- **

On the way Danny felt weird, like the sixth sense he used to guess where ghosts were. He felt like he was being watched, but the person (or ghost) seemed to have to malicious intent towards him. Then in the corner of his eye he saw a flickering shadow in the background. Suddenly he heard a small cry of pain, and as he turned around he saw a kid about his age. He looked to be 13 and had dark brown hair. He wore a crimson red t-shirt and dark blue jeans. His whole outfit was a bit torn up. He had dark green eyes and seemed to have some lean muscle in his arms.

Danny approached the kid cautiously and when he felt like the kid wouldn't attack him he reached his hand down, offering to help the boy up. "Why were you following me?" asked Danny curiously. The kids looked a little flustered but replied "Oh, I saw you walking and recognized you." Danny, surprised by the answer, took an unconscious step back. When the kid noticed this he said "I recognized you as Danny Fenton, son of those two ghost hunters. That's all." Danny was once again surprised by the teenagers reply. "Why do you care if I'm the son of two ghost hunters? Most people view them as overly eccentric, yet you seem to honestly respect them."

The other boy smiled and said "Yeah, I do respect them. From the daily ghost attacks on the town I wanted to learn to defend myself from them. So I figured I should ask someone from the family." "You want to learn to hunt ghosts?" asked Danny "I guess I could bring you to meet them. My dad will love a person who actually wants to learn more about them." Then he and the other boy walked towards Fenton Works, and Danny found out more about him. The boy's name was Nickolas, but preferred to be called Nick. Like Sam he seemed to dislike being called his full name. He was an orphan, and lived in St. Johns Orphanage. The place was a couple miles away from his house.

Soon they reached the glowing neon sign that his parents had put up on the front of the house. Danny opened the door and yelled "Mom, dad; I'm home." His overzealous father bounded upstairs from their basement, which was where their lab was. Ever since the accident that turned him into a half-ghost that area was a danger zone and occasional training ground. "Hey Danny, who's your friend?" asked/yelled his father. "Friend, what friend?" asked his mother as, Maddie, as she calmly walked up the stairs. Not waiting for Danny's reply, Nick said "The names Nick. I saw Danny and asked him if you guys wouldn't mind teaching me about ghosts." As soon as Jack heard this his eyes lit up with excitement. "You want to learn about ghosts!" said Jack loudly as he started to explain the basics. His mother, on the other hand, had a more suspicious look. "Why?" she asked. Nick explained how he wanted to learn to do thing other than run and/or hide when ghosts attacked. Maddie was sated by the answer but still seemed the tiniest bit suspicious.

**-- **

Nick's relationship with the Fentons grew from that first day. His curiosity over ghosts made him immediately accepted by Danny's father, and for the most part by his mother. When she learned that Nick was an orphan she softened up a little, and tended to insist that he "get a home cooked meal" occasionally. Jazz, being a psychologist in training, also became a big sister to him and tried to show him hospitality. Weapon wise, he was an expert shooter with an excellent accuracy rate. When Danny's mom questioned him about it they found out he knew archery and a little bit of sword fighting. Soon two moths had passed. Nick requested that the Fentons make his a personalized weapon that can injure a ghost. Reluctantly they agreed, but only if they got agreement from the person that took care of the children at the orphanage. It would be the first time they saw where Nick lived, and what the Fentons saw shocked them to the core.

The building was in good shape, and decent food was served. But there was also a problem for Nick. He turned out to be the loner of the kids, which contradicted their own view of him. At Fenton Works he was a smiling, if not a little bit to restrained teenage which was very different from being a loner. Because of this they felt a little bit of pity for Nick.

The matron of the St. Johns was what you'd expect. She was a nun named Joanne who was nearing old age, but not quite there yet. Her face showed that she honestly cared for her charges, and was not there for less noble reasons. The Fentons explained their purpose for coming, and the nun looked concerned. "Why look so concerned?" asked Maddie. Joanne then gave them more information on Nick's past. He had an average life, two loving parent with a slightly large home near the business district of the city. His parents worked for Future Life Incorporated, a company that was hired to improve existing technologies. It was apparently quite a large organization, giving them a decent sized paycheck. They were top scientists, and most of their work was classified by the government, which peaked the interest of Jack and Maddie. Maybe that's where he got his interest in science and made him seek them out.

When Nick was five his parents were mysteriously killed in their home, vey little physical evidence was found. The bodies were found in the morning by Nick, and he ran to tell a neighbor. Two bullets through their skulls, one shot per person. All the evidence consisted of were the two bullets. The ammo used was easily available on the market, along with the guns capable of using them. By the end of the investigation no suspects were found. He was then sent to multiple places, but was passed through the social service system three or four times. He arrived at St. Johns when he was ten, and acquired the reputation of a loner. The story, whether the Fentons consciously knew it or not, made them consider adopting him. Jazz took even more interest in him, and her care to protect Nick grew.

The orphanage matron explained "Nick's out right now. He always seems to be out at sporadic times, and we don't know why. We know it's not drugs since the kids here get drug tests when suspected of it, just to make sure that they're not doing anything they'd regret. Some of the kids here have turned to eh, less legal means of release in the past " said the nun. The Fentons let go of the breath they were keeping in, because in the time Nick had spent with them drugs would be a stain on their image of him. "Did you find any other reasons why he leaves so often?" asked Maddie. "We even tried having him see a child psychologist. We can't determine a single reason to explain his behavior, but theorize that it has to do with his parent's deaths. The good thing is that he always gets back at the same time everyday" was Joanne's reply.

The Fentons also got a look at the room where he lived. He shared with another boy his age, and the differences between the rooms were startling. While his roommate, a teenager who would be considered a standard kid. That half had a messy floor with sports posters on the walls. Nick's side of the room told more about him, things they never expected. The floor was mostly clear, with only the occasional shirt lying randomly on the floor. The corner held many boxes of various sizes. The Fentons looked towards the matron. "She looked conflicted for a second, but in the end she said "Go ahead, just avoid the boxes in the corner. You'll need his permission to look in those." Jazz had a look that screamed she would do it, but let out a deep breath. _I'll look in them later when I gain more of his trust_ thought Jazz. The first box was opened and inside it were books. Books on strategy, the military to history and some that looked very old. Leather bound copies of classics like War and Peace and Machiavelli's The Prince. Some pretty weights were found in a nearby box. The shelves on his side of the room also held unusual things. Figurines of what seemed to be knights, archers and other well known types of warriors seemed to line the shelves. The fact that they were there wasn't strange, but it was the fact that they looked hard carved. Chip marks covered them, and the whole feeling they gave off was hand made.

Suddenly a voice behind them said "Who are you? What are you doing here? Are you here to adopt?" The final question held hope, and it broke the Fentons hearts to hear that tone. The speaker was probably Nick's roommate. He was a red head but looked totally average in all other respects. Danny was the first to reply. "We're here to see Nick." The other boy got a look of anger on his face at the answer. "That kid? He's the biggest weirdo in the place, and we have a schizophrenic here. He's even more normal than who you're looking for." Jazz got an angry look on her face. "How so? He seems normal when he comes over to our house." This made the other boy even angrier then before. "So that's where he's been going for these past two months. At least it makes some sense: the freaky family adopts the weirdo".

A voice from the behind the boy got their attention. "Hey Josephina, I see your bonding with potential parents again" taunted Nick. Then he turned his attention to the Fentons. "Hey guys. What are you doing here?" asked Nick. He was dressed normally, but had a weird trinket on a string. It was a stone rectangle with unknown markings in its four sides. "Well, we decided to come and ask your guardians if we can make you a personalized ghost hunting weapon. She said yes, and showed us your room" replied Maddie. Jack, being the subtle person he was blurted out the question that was on all of their minds. "Why does your room mate think you're weird?"

Nick smiled at the question, and got a small frown on his face. "That could be for a lot of reasons. First of all I disappear for personnel reasons most of the day. Second, I'm friends with the bad luck of the orphanage." "The bad luck?" asked Maddie. "Yeah, he's my age and a lot of bad luck tends to happen around him. He uses a cane since he was permanently injured as a kid, and his parents just left him here when he was two or three. That's why the kids here call him bad luck." "That's rude" said Jazz. "He probably appreciates your kindness." "Yeah he does." The Fentons stayed for about an hour longer and talked to Nick about life at the orphanage. In that time period they were introduced to the Bad Luck. His name was Taylor White, and he had blonde hair and blue eyes. He really did walk with a cane, but seemed to take no shame in it.

Taylor was a bit of a joker, but over all a decent person as far at they could tell. They then left and drove back to their home. It was around dinner time, and Jack thought of making a chicken in their new invention: The Fenton Oven. Both Danny and Jazz panicked, not wanting to see what would happen if a chicken was cooked in ectoplasm. The man eating hotdogs were enough trouble. In the end they ordered pizza, and everyone went off to do their own activities before the pizza got delivered. Danny went to chat with Tucker and Sam, Jazz read a book about the common psychology of orphans. Jack and Maddie talked in the kitchen. "Maddie" Jack started out, "Do you think that adopting Nick would be a good idea?" Maddie had a skeptical look on her face. "I don't know. Adopting a kid is a pretty big commitment, and there's the fact that two kids takes a lot of money to keep up with, combined with the cost of the ghost equipment." "But Nick is already family in one sense. We've known him for two a while so it wouldn't be that much of a change." "There's only the small factor of learning what he does when he mysteriously vanishes for hours on end. Otherwise we can help him get over what damage was done with his parent's deaths." Maddie sighed. "Okay, we'll discuss it with the kids and look into the subject. We can't be too quick about this decision.

Well, I hope you like chapter two of my story. I know I haven't updated in a while for those who care. Read and review, and no flames please. As for grammar that's my weak point, along with correct spacing for dialogue. Any suggestions for the plot would be appreciated.


End file.
